The trial of Kim Potter begins Tuesday. She is a former suburban Minneapolis officer who allegedly killed Daunte Wright and shot her when she mistook the Taser for her gun during an attempted arrest.
Potter is facing charges of first-degree and second-degree murder in Wright’s death. This sparked protests in April last year in an area already on edge following the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer for the murder George Floyd.
Potter and Anthony Luckey pulled Wright, a Black 20-year-old man, over because his car had expired plates and air freshener hanging from its rearview mirror. According to a criminal complaint.
Luckey discovered that Wright was on an outstanding warrant for a weapons violation, and tried to arrest him. Wright initially obeyed the orders to get out, but he tried to get back inside while he was being handcuffed.
Potter’s bodycam shows her saying.”I’ll tase ya,” Then she pulled out her gun and repeated the process. “I’ll tase you.”
Potter replied two seconds later, “Taser Taser Taser,” Wright was hit with a single shot. “S—! I just shot him. … I grabbed the wrong f—— gun,” Potter said. “I’m going to go to prison.”
Potter’s defense may argue that it was a mistake. However, prosecutors will argue that she did first-degree manslaughter by recklessly handling a firearm. To be charged with second-degree manslaughter, you must show culpable negligence.
Juror selection will begin Tuesday. Attorneys will likely screen jurors to get their views on the protests for social justice that broke out in the wake George Floyd’s May 2020 death.
